Meeting documents
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Current Issues Minutes: There were
no current issues. |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: Councillors
I Darby and P Martin declared a personal interest under the Code being members
of Buckinghamshire County Council. |
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Implementation of a New Unitary District Council PDF 80 KB Decision: Due to the
requirement for any legal proceedings to be issued as a matter of urgency
because the Regulations in question have already been laid in Parliament, an
urgent decision was required by Cabinet to decide if the Council should
institute legal proceedings. As required by the Budget and Policy Framework
Procedure Rules the Chairman of the Resources Overview Committee agreed that
the decision to be taken by Cabinet was urgent and it was not practical to
convene a quorate meeting of full Council. The report
provided an update on the proposed creation of a new District Unitary Council,
following Cabinet’s decision on 9 January 2019 not to consent to the Secretary
of State’s proposed Modification Regulations under section 15 of the Cities and
Local Government Devolution Act 2016. Cabinet were asked to consider whether it
was expedient for the promotion or protection of the interests of the
inhabitants of Chiltern District to institute legal proceedings for judicial
review of the Secretary of State’s decisions in respect of the Modification
Regulations and the Structural Changes Order, either alone or jointly with
other District Councils which could be undertaken under section 222 of the
Local Government Act 1972. RESOLVED
that:
Minutes: Due to the
requirement for any legal proceedings to be issued as a matter of urgency
because the Regulations in question had already been laid in Parliament, an
urgent decision was required by Cabinet to decide if the Council should
institute legal proceedings. As required by the Council’s Budget and Policy
Framework Procedure Rules and Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules the
Chairman of the Resources Overview Committee agreed that the decision to be
taken by Cabinet was urgent and it was not practical to convene a quorate
meeting of full Council, or for call in to apply, and it was impractical to
provide 5 clear days’ notice in advance of the Cabinet decision and the
required 28 day notice of the decision, as required under the Local Authorities
(Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England)
Regulations 2012. The report
provided an update on the proposed creation of a new Unitary District Council,
following Cabinet’s decision on 9 January 2019 not to consent to the Secretary of
State’s proposed Modification Regulations under section 15 of the Cities and
Local Government Devolution Act 2016 and to seek legal advice. A letter
confirming the Council did not consent to the making of the Modification
Regulations was sent to the Secretary of State on 10 January. It was noted that
all four District Councils had decided not to consent, and the County Council
had agreed conditional consent. Legal
advice on the Structural Changes Order had been obtained from leading counsel
jointly with Wycombe District Council. In view of counsel’s advice a letter was
sent to the Secretary of State on 18 January as a preliminary step before legal
proceedings. The letter expressed concerns about the legality of the decision
to lay the Modification Regulations in Parliament based on the conditional
consent given by the County Council and without also laying the draft
Structural Changes Order, as well as concerns about the recent changes to the
proposed governance arrangement for the shadow authority and the lack of
reasons for making these changes. As the Regulations had already been laid in
Parliament and the Secretary of State intended to make them before 31 March
2019, any legal proceedings, associated documents and legal steps would need to
be issued/undertaken with the utmost urgency. Cabinet
were therefore asked to consider whether it was expedient for the promotion or
protection of the interests of the inhabitants of Chiltern District to
institute legal proceedings for judicial review of the Secretary of State’s
decisions in respect of the Modification Regulations and the Structural Changes
Order, either alone or jointly with other District Councils which could be
undertaken under section 222 of the Local Government Act 1972. The
Cabinet resolved that under section 100 (A) (4) of the Local Government Act
1972 (as amended) the public be excluded from the meeting to enable Members to
receive legal advice on the potential grounds for instituting proceedings
(Paragraph 5) as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act. After receiving legal ... view the full minutes text for item 164. |